haines



(No Model G. B. HAINES,

GA'R STARTER. No. 352,127. Patented Nov. 9, 18 86.

UNITED STATE PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE B. HAINES, or oHioAeo, ILLiNoIs, ASSIGNOR on ONE-HALF TO ROBERT J. GUNNING, on SAME PLACE.

CAR-STARTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,127, dated November 9, 1886.

Application filed May],1886. Serial No.200,779. (No model.)

' starter employing a ratchet-wheel in which suitable means will be provided for bringing the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel "in the forward movement and to carry it clear of such teeth in the backward movement; and my invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig; 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a section taken in line as x of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective of one of the parts. V

A is the ratchet-wheel; B, the pawl; O, the draw-bar; D, the weighted end of the pawl; E, a rod running forward from such weighted end or an extension thereof; F, an inclined piece on which the weighted end of the pawl rests; G, a spring or clamp in which the rod E may be caught and held; H, a frame attached to the frame-work of the car and supporting the inclined piece F, and I the catch on the pawl.

In making my improved carstarter, I employ a ratchet-wheel, which may be fixed to the axle of the car in any suitable way, and more than one may be employed, if desired. The axles support the usual frame-work on which the car is placed, and which need not be particularly described. A draw-bar, 0, extends back under thecar, preferably beyond the axle, and is permitted to have a certain amount of end movement back and forth independent of the car and its frame-work as power is applied to it in starting or pulling the car or as such power is relaxed. Pivotally connected to thi's draw-bar is arranged a pawl having a catch, I, suitable to engage with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel when pulled forward. The forward end of this pivoted pawl is weighted, so that,with nothing to prevent, its weight would constantly lift the catch of the pawl above and prevent it from coming intoengagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheel. To prevent this constant disengagement that would result from the weight of the part D,an inclined piece or r0d,'F, is arranged under such weighted end, and by its incline it adjusts the position of the catch on the pawl so that engagement or disengagement can be had as the draw-bar and pawl are moved forward and backward. This piece F is preferably made as a part of the frame H, which may be attached, as shown in Fig. 2, to aport-ion of the permanent frame-work of the car, and sothat it cannot move back or forward as the draw-bar and pawl are moved one way or the other. The rod, or the extended portion E of the weighted end D, extends from such weighted end forward under a spring or clamp, G, adapted to catch and hold it in place when it is pressed up between the jaws of such spring or clamp. This spring is clearly shown in Fig. 3. \Vhen the extension E is held in this clamp or spring, the-catch I of the pawl B will be in position to engage with the teeth of the ratchet should it be moved forward, while, when it is out of such clamp,the weighted end D willlift the catch, so that it may pass back out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel.

The operation is as follows: The parts be ing in the position shown in Fig. 1, if the draw-bar and pawl be moved forward by the exertion of power-as, for instance, the startweighted end moves forward. [This will force the rod-.or extension E out of the jaws of the spring or clamp G and permit the weighted end to fall to the extent of the chain, and thus lift the catch end I of the'pawl high enough to pass back out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel. If, now, the car should stop for any purpose, the draw-bar and pawl B would be carried back by the operation of a spring, (not shown,) and in passing back the weighted end D of the pawl would move up the inclined piece F. This would correspondingly depress the catch end I of the clutch B and raise the rod or extension Einto the jaws of the spring G, so that when the draw-bar had sprung back to its original and normal position the parts would again be in the position shown in Fig. 1 and ready to engage again with the teeth of the ratchetwheel when the team or other motive power moves forward to start the car. lhis operation will be re peated automatically as often as the car is started and stopped.

WVhat I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a car-starter, the combination of a ratchet-wheel, a draw-bar capable of independent endwise movement, a pivoted pawl movable therewith and having a catch and a weighted end, and an inclined piece or way 20 over which such weighted end moves and along which it is raised and lowered, substantially as described.

2. In a car-starter, the combination of a ratchet-wheel, a draw-bar capable of inde- 2 5 pendent endwise movement, a pivoted pawl movable therewith and having a catch and a weighted end, a rod or extension forward of such weighted end, a spring or clamp adapted to receive such rod or extension when forced o upward and to release it when forced downward, and an inclined piece or way over which the weighted end moves and along which itis raised and lowered, substantially as described.

GEORGE B. HAINES.

Witnesses:

GEORGE O. Coon, EPHRAIM BANNING. 

